Endless Ocean
Overview Endless Ocean places the player in the role of a Scuba diving|scuba diver exploring the Manaurai Manoa Lai sea. The sea is called Manaurai in the European version, but is called "Manoa Lai" in the US release in search of sea life and sunken treasure under the guidance of an assistant named Catherine SundayIn the US release, the assistant's name is spelled "Katherine". See In the sea, they will encounter a number of marine species ranging from smaller fish and penguins to massive whale sharks, manta rays and humpback whales. The range of marine wildlife in the game is extensive and includes many common and rare species. The player will also encounter dolphins and other cetaceans that can be trained to perform certain tricks and become companions on dives. Species such as sharks are also present; however, they pose no threat to the player. The player also has access to a large aquarium that they can populate with species they have identified. The sea's various locations providing a means for the player to experience general diving, cave diving, deep diving|deep-water oceanic trench|trench exploration, wreck diving, and other activities that might not otherwise be possible in a single real world setting. The game is controlled solely using the Wii Remote, with the player using an on-screen cursor to guide their diver. The game features Wi-Fi play over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing two players to dive together.Arika, the game's developer, previously released the games Everblue and Everblue 2 for the PlayStation 2. Both titles featured very similar gameplay to that of Endless Ocean, revolving heavily around scuba diving in search of underwater treasure, as well as photography. The Everblue titles are both played from a first person perspective, while Endless Ocean uses both first person and third person perspectives for movement. Additionally, a fixed first person perspective is used for close examination. Music The song "Prayer" composed by Secret Garden (duo)|Secret Garden and performed by Hayley Westenra is featured in the trailers for Endless Ocean, as well as in the game itself. Westenra also contributes several other songs including her rendition of the Maori folk song "Pokarekare Ana".http://youtube.com/watch?v=iVdf-_f2onw Forever Blue - Play Movie]Players are also able to transfer their own MP3 music files to an SD card, and listen to them while playing, providing a customizable soundtrack for the game. This is the second game on Wii to provide such a feature, the first being Excite Truck. Reception The critical reaction to the game has generally been favorable. Famitsu scored the game 35/40, praising the open-ended exploration aspect of the game, the scale of the play area and its soundtrack.British game publication NGamer gave Endless Ocean 88%, calling it "the world's most relaxing and beautiful game", "addictive", and "totally brilliant". NTSC-uk commented "The replay value is threatened by repetition, but amongst the violence and destruction found elsewhere in videogames, it will always be refreshing to sit back... and simply just relax in the deep blue".Nevertheless, Eurogamer described the gameplay as "pleasant, pretty, bubbly boredom", while GamePro claimed that the "underwater atmosphere is soothing and relaxing but it lacks a crucial element: fun."Electronic Gaming Monthly chose to mock the game instead of presenting a full review.Endless Ocean currently holds a 74% rating, based on 27 reviews, at Game Rankings, and a score of 73 at Metacritic, based on 27 reviews. Technical issues On August 10 2007, Nintendo issued a product recall in Japan after a major bug was found in copies of the game released on August 2 2007 Nintendo has re-released the game in Japan with the bug removed. The bug caused the screen to go blank and caused the console to freeze as soon as the player put one or more bowmouth guitarfish into the Aquarium. The exploration mode is not affected by this bug. }}